A group of 18 Welsh students have visited the Portlands area to witness first hand the impact of sport development.
The students, who are part of a group of 40 in the country on a nine-day field trip, were brought to the area by Stellenbosch University, organised through the Geography department.
The group from Cardiff University were joined by Stellenbosch University students and Prof Ronnie Donaldson and Musfiqah Majiet from the Geography Department.
Majiet was tasked with finding an organisation focused on sport and community building. It was then that she found the Unchain the Plain foundation.
“I searched Facebook and Google to find someone and that is where I found Unchain the Plain. They really fit everything the students were looking for,” says Majiet.
Dr Joe Williams, who lead the Welsh students, says: “You can tell a lot about culture through sport and the engagement with sport.”
Williams says the students all study Human Geography and Planning at Cardiff. They plan to participate in a community project centered in sport and culture.
Unchain the Plain champion Morne Press was accompanied by some of the foundation’s founding members and other volunteers to host the students at the Napier Close park in Portlands.
Here students could ask questions around their work and programme.
The students could then also play netball, soccer, rugby and cricket on the large field.
Press, who is also part of a community group working toward creating a safer environment for the neighbourhood, through a variety of projects – including CCTV cameras, plants and reclaiming the open spaces – says their initiatives are self funded.
Juven Rittles of Unchain the Plain says reclaiming the space through sport creates a holistic approach to disrupting anti-social behaviour. “When children are playing, their parents come and watch, so it becomes a package deal,” he says.
Press, as one of the foundation’s champions, received a donation of sporting equipment from the foundation to assist in getting children playing sport again.
Their self-funded, branded equipment includes a variety of balls and bats. For more information on the foundation or how you can support their initiatives, visit their Facebook page: Unchain the Plain.
For a video report, visit our Facebook Page: People’s Post.
